German American Bancorp (NASDAQ:GABC) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume After Analyst Upgrade

German American Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:GABC) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Thursday after Keefe, Bruyette & Woods raised their price target on the stock from $46.00 to $47.00. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods currently has a market perform rating on the stock. Approximately 454,476 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 431% from the previous session’s volume of 85,598 shares.The stock last traded at $41.68 and had previously closed at $41.71.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on GABC. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of German American Bancorp in a research report on Tuesday, October 15th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $45.00 target price on the stock. Hovde Group upgraded shares of German American Bancorp from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $41.00 to $48.00 in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their target price on shares of German American Bancorp from $49.00 to $48.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $46.40.

Institutional Trading of German American Bancorp

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. German American Bancorp Inc. increased its stake in German American Bancorp by 160.1% during the 3rd quarter. German American Bancorp Inc. now owns 514,018 shares of the bank’s stock worth $19,918,000 after purchasing an additional 316,400 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in German American Bancorp by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,708,130 shares of the bank’s stock worth $67,557,000 after purchasing an additional 196,003 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in German American Bancorp by 577.6% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 69,271 shares of the bank’s stock worth $2,684,000 after purchasing an additional 59,048 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in German American Bancorp by 6.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 772,675 shares of the bank’s stock worth $29,941,000 after purchasing an additional 50,206 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in German American Bancorp by 43.3% during the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 133,156 shares of the bank’s stock worth $5,160,000 after purchasing an additional 40,219 shares in the last quarter. 46.90% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

German American Bancorp Trading Down 0.6 %

The business has a 50 day moving average of $41.73 and a 200-day moving average of $40.61. The company has a current ratio of 0.81, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.27. The firm has a market capitalization of $1.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.97 and a beta of 0.65.

German American Bancorp (NASDAQ:GABC) last posted its earnings results on Monday, February 3rd. The bank reported $0.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.69 by $0.09. German American Bancorp had a return on equity of 11.94% and a net margin of 23.75%. Analysts anticipate that German American Bancorp, Inc. will post 2.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

German American Bancorp Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, February 20th. Stockholders of record on Monday, February 10th will be paid a dividend of $0.29 per share. This is a boost from German American Bancorp’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.27. This represents a $1.16 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 2.80%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, February 10th. German American Bancorp’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 38.99%.

German American Bancorp Company Profile

German American Bancorp, Inc operates as a financial holding company for German American Bank that provides retail and commercial banking services. The company operates through three segments: Core Banking, Wealth Management Services, and Insurance Operations. The Core Banking segment accepts deposits from the general public; and originates consumer, commercial and agricultural, commercial and agricultural real estate, and residential mortgage loans, as well as sells residential mortgage loans in the secondary market.